Slippery Rock Gazette

by Peter J. Marcucci

Photos  Courtesy Real Stone & Granite

Just lately, mostly after watching a night’s worth of world news, I seem to be grappling with the question: Does patriotism create freedom, or does freedom (or the lack of it) create patriotism?      

Call it curious conjecture, but I think the answer is that it really depends on when and where you were born. For instance, for me as well as others born soon after World War II, freedom had been a birthright due to the patriots who had answered Uncle Sam’s call to fight. For most of us kids, these freedoms were unappreciated gifts taken for granted while growing up in a country victorious after ridding the world of tyranny, and any patriotism after that, came as an outgrowth of those gifts as we approached adulthood. But what about the children born into war, that’s so prevalent in today’s news? They don’t know freedom, and at best, if they survive, may only get a glimpse of the patriots fighting for it. 

Beginning in 1936, a government known as the Somoza Regime came into power, and through the decades, began tightening its grip on the people of Nicaragua, slowly eroding their freedoms. Born in Chinandega, Nicaragua during this turbulent time, Jose D. Ubilla was raised there until the age of seventeen, at which time he decided to travel to America, recalled Ubilla. “I had a four-year plan, and came to the United States on January 20, 1978 to attend Arcadia University in Pennsylvania and learn English. It was not for political reasons. I then moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1979 to attend the University of Louisiana to learn more English, and after one semester, moved to Lafayette, Louisiana to work on my degree in agricultural economics.” 

Ubilla’s four-year plan included going back to Nicaragua after college; however, history and politics had other plans. Led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, the Nicaraguan revolution, which had been slowly brewing over the years, went into full-tilt boogie mode in 1979. One outcome of the revolution was that Ubilla’s family – his mother and nine brothers and sisters – were now exiled, and forced to emigrate. His family ended up scattered in Central America and South Florida. 

The Big Move and the Beginning of a Dream   

After leaving school in 1983, Ubilla moved to Miami, Florida, where he soon learned the stone biz while subcontracting work through his older brother, Pablo, an established architect, civil engineer, and also a tile contractor, he explained. “Whenever stone work became available, it became my passion, automatically, and how I got my feet wet in the stone business.”   

In 1987, Ubilla briefly shared a partnership in a company called Interstone. He learned much and the company did well. However, the partnership dissolved after three years, and it was time to move on to bigger things.  

In 1993, Ubilla’s dream company Real Stone & Granite had taken shape in a small building in Delray Beach, Florida. Starting out with only a Sawing Systems bridge saw, production grew as new machinery was added, as needed. Within five years, production had surpassed space, and a larger facility was needed. In 1999, the decision was made to pull up roots and move to a 20,000 square-foot facility they had located some 70 miles away in Fort Pierce, Florida. 

   Currently, the company’s two main markets consist of a high-end custom residential and commercial fabrication division, and a second monument division focused on a specialized clientele. Ubilla’s brother, Vice President Alejandro Ubilla, oversees both divisions as well as other parts of the business. In-house designs, estimating and web marketing for both divisions is overseen by Maria R. Gonzales. 

As for market share, President Jose D. Ubilla recalled, “When we moved here in 1999, the idea was to serve a larger section of Florida. Comfortably, we are within two hours to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale or Miami, and three hours to the Sarasota and Tampa area. So we can cover a large portion of the state within a reasonable amount of time. We do quite a bit of local sales, but our area of concentration is a hundred mile radius from here in Fort Pierce.” 

There’s also a third division that’s been since the early ’90s, but up and coming, continued Ubilla. “Real Stone Bahamas Limited is a 17-year-old sister company, managed by Urbano Lopez. It is a showroom/warehouse and installation company, and will soon be a version of the Fort Pierce fabrication facility.” All in all, both locations average a total of 60 team members. 

Honoring the Great Sacrifices, Dreams and Accomplishments of Others

Above: Project for R.I.S.E.

About a year after the big move, Ubilla was offered a proposal by the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 566, to build the Florida Vietnam Veteran’s Wall in Veterans Park, in Port Saint Lucie. Being primarily a countertop fabricator and not being setup for producing monuments, this project was quite a challenge at the time, recalled Ubilla. “The project encompassed engraving 1,952 names on the wall, Floridian soldiers who gave it their all in Vietnam. It was a major project for us at the time, and something that made me look into the value of freedom, and the American ideology of freedom. It made me look back and think about why I am here. Working for all these veterans and building this monument made me realize the importance of the American dream, and not being a financial dream like most people perceive it. The American dream is an idea and a way of life, and what this country has been throughout history to be what it is.” 

The Vietnam Veteran’s Wall memorial was designed by Architect David Cleveland. The project consisted of 32,000 pounds of Khammam Black granite brought in from India by container and placed onsite. The material was fully erected, stenciled and sandblasted, and was proudly unveiled to a crowded audience on June 14, 2001. When viewed, there is no question that this beautiful work of art helps to bring closure to those who have lost their loved ones in this tragic war. 

Other notable monument projects include the Navy Seal Monument, The Four Chaplains Monument, The Space Walk of Fame, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Gold Star Family Memorial, The Astronaut Walk of Fame, The Afghanistan War – Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Desert Storm Memorial, and The Korean War, World War II and Pearl Harbor Memorials.

Above: Jose D. Ubilla meets Hershel “Woody” Williams during the dedication of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument at Trinity Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2019. He was the last living Medal of Honor recipient from the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima before passing away in June 2022. The Gold Star Families Memorial Monument was dedicated on September 25, 2016.   Below: The Florida Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial was Jose Ubilla’s first major memorial Installed at Veterans Memorial Park in Port St. Lucie. It has the names of the 1,952 Florida men and women who died in that war engraved in the black granite panels.

Below: Navy Seal Memorial is located with the Navy Seal Museum on Hutchinson Island, Ft. Pierce, Florida. Ubilla: “We began doing the memorials for those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice, and it became an automatic connection for us.”

Logistics

Real Stone & Granite’s sales consist of approximately 50% quartz, with a healthy mix of Pompeii, and a heavily concentration in porcelain and natural stone. Most are purchased from local distributors, however, Ubilla does occasionally import, he explained. “For commercial projects, many times we coordinate direct importing and even pre-fabricating from overseas. Over the years I’ve built relationships with quarries run by responsible people in Italy, Brazil, India, Spain, Vietnam, as well as Marmoles de Honduras SA, who we have an extremely close relationship with.” 

 To help keep everyone’s finger on the pulse of production, Stoneapp software and Slabsmith software help to facilitate and control all elements from sales to installation. All equipment was handpicked by Ubilla and his team and is first quality. Here’s what he had to say: “Our Helios Zeus CNC Router is capable of cutting and fabricating countertops, sink holes, and producing 3D monuments up to eight inches  in thickness, while our Helios Cut 500 CNC Saw is fully programmable with a Robo Move feature and hydraulic tilt-table, and is ideal for porcelain slabs, Dekton and engineered stones. We also use a Helios LUX Automatic Face Polisher that is very instrumental for polishing, honing and brushing any type of natural or engineered stone. 

“Our Park Industries Fusion Duel Table is great for precise digital cutting of any type of stones or quartz, et cetera. It is fast and furious, and is a combination blade/waterjet cutting system. Our Park Industries Fast Back is ideal for flat polishing any type of natural or engineered stones. It has large production capacity, and leaves a great quality finish on the edges of countertops. Our Park Industries Pro-Edge 4 is also ideal for custom edges on countertops of any type of stones up to 5 inches in thickness. We also employ a Park Industries Wizard that is literally a workhorse. It’s a very versatile machine good for many uses from edge polishing and shaping, to face polishing any type of stone. This was a great investment we made in 2002. Still going strong, it’s a wonderful, versatile tool that I’ll never get rid of!

“We also use a BACA Systems Saw-Jet. It is a fully robotic sawing system capable of cutting 20 slabs per day, and is ideal for high production. Finally, our BACA Systems Miter X is ideal for mitering straight edges on any material. There is zero chipping, and it does perfect miters every time.

“So we have an interesting mix of machines. I still believe the Italians have the edge in technology, but I do give credit where credit is due, and Park Industries has made a very serious statement with their equipment, and their customer service is amazing. As for Helios equipment, it is very precise and easy to use. They use a lot of stainless steel in the construction and it holds up very well. The cost is very reasonable compared to other brands, and their service is excellent. They treat customers like family, and I think that’s extremely important when you build a relationship.” By the time this issue goes to press, Ubilla said that a new twin table BACA Robo JetSaw will also be installed.

Above: Ubilla: “We have an interesting mix of machines. I still believe the Italians have the edge in technology, but I do give credit where credit is due, and Park Industries has made a very serious statement with their equipment– their customer service is amazing.”    Below: Real Stone & Granite has approximately 60 team members at both the Fort Pierce shop and its sister branch. “We’re a high-capacity shop,” said Ubilla, “and teamwork is very important to us. We couldn’t do all we do without teamwork.”

Below: Newly installed Helios Zeus, in addition to Real Stone’s Helios CUT500 CNC Saw and a LUX Auto Face Polishing machine, used for monument faces and other projects.  Ubilla says their Park Fusion is a true workhorse.

The Dream Carried Forward  

“All of us at Real Stone & Granite are extremely proud of being chosen for the many memorial projects we’ve done, especially when you get to meet the people behind these projects, and see why they want to do them,” he continued. “It makes them special in every case. Take the Navy Seal monument in Fort Pierce, Florida. When building it, I learned that it was the original training ground for the Navy Seals in 1949, when they were part of secret military operations. The sad part of building it, however, was that we had to leave blank panels for upcoming wars to make room for more names. These monuments will be there forever, are part of our history, and the people in this country should learn from them and value what America has been through to make it what it is. We have learned much doing these projects and we look forward to doing them for years to come.”

Above: This high-end kitchen island is cristallo quartzite tied in with a backsplash of glass tile panels.   Below: The Main Bar at OIA Restaurant – Goldwynn Resort & Residences. By Real Stone Bahama Ltd. division.

Below: Korean War Monument, Veteran’s Park, Port St. Lucie, Florida. Dedicated in 2006, the monument combines engraved granite with bas-relief bronze.

Below: Purple Heart Monument, also installed in Veteran’s park, pays tribute to veterans wounded in the Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iran military actions.

Below, left: Veteran’s Park at Port St. Lucie, Florida contains monuments to all the veterans and fallen heroes, from WWI onward. Above: World War II Memorial for all armed forces; Below: Ubilla stands by part of the large Vietnam War monument.   Below, right: Space Walk of Fame, at the Space View Park, Trussville, Florida.  An extensive series of monuments records America’s Space Program, including a Space Shuttle monument listing all the astronauts and crew of all shuttle missions.

Bottom, Left: Ubilla was offered a proposal by the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 566, to build the Florida Vietnam Veteran’s Wall in Veterans Park, in Port Saint Lucie. Below, Right: Great teams don’t happen overnight. They are formed by outstanding people. Meet the Real Stone Team!

Real Stone & Granite is a member of the National Stone Institute, the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the Treasure Coast Builders Association and the Gary Sinise Foundation.

To see more examples of their fabrication and monument work, visit www.realstoneandgranite.com .